Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when he plans to lay before the House the UK's trade agreement with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Answered by George Hollingbery
Pending the completion of the necessary internal procedures, the UK-Andean Countries Trade Agreement will shortly be laid before Parliament to be scrutinised for 21 sitting days, as set out in the in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaG) 2010. The Agreement will be accompanied by both a Parliamentary Report and an Explanatory Memorandum.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what programmes his Department allocates funding to in Colombia.
Answered by Alan Duncan
In Colombia, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office allocates funding to Conflict Serurity and Stability Fund programmes, Prosperity Fund programmes, and to smaller interventions under the International Programme. Our programmes in Colombia are designed to advance Foreign and Commonwealth Office and wider UK Government policy objectives, including achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Programme funds deliver against a range of policy objectives for example assisting Colombian human rights defenders; supporting implementation of the peace deal; tackling serious organised crime; and supporting institutions, infrastructure, and agricultural development in the country's post conflict and conflict-affected regions.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his US and Mexican counterparts on the decision by the US Administration to introduce rising tariffs as a means of tackling illegal immigration from Mexico.
Answered by Alan Duncan
This is a bilateral issue between the US and Mexico.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans review the UK’s extradition arrangements with Hong Kong if that country allows extradition to China.
Answered by Mark Field
We have noted the concerns voiced by legal and business representative organisations and civil society groups in Hong Kong about both the content and the short consultation period allowed for the proposed changes to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance.
We have raised a number of issues relating to the proposals with the Hong Kong Government at senior levels. These include potential implications for our bilateral extradition treaty, as well as the potential consequences for the UK business community and for UK citizens living in or travelling through Hong Kong. We will continue to seek clarity from the authorities on these points.
The Foreign Secretary and Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, issued a Joint Statement on 30 May 2019, which noted concern for the potential effect of the proposals on the large number of UK and Canadian citizens in Hong Kong, on business confidence and on Hong Kong’s international reputation. They made clear that any extradition arrangements in Hong Kong should be in line with ‘One Country, Two Systems’ and fully respect Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy. They also urged the Hong Kong Government to engage meaningfully with Hong Kong’s broad range of local and international stakeholders in order to ensure their concerns are fully considered.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the merits of the Government's assistance for fracking in China.
Answered by David Lidington
All of the support we provide through our Prosperity Fund is already very carefully considered, including to the energy sector in China. The overall purpose of the Fund is to promote inclusive growth whilst contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Fund’s climate change and energy programmes all support the SDGs, including SDG 7 (affordable, reliable, sustainable modern energy) and SDG 13 (climate action). Sharing UK expertise, including on environmental regulation will help ensure that China’s planned development of its unconventional gas resources is done to high standards, and is managed as part of a transition to a low carbon energy system. This will reduce emissions, as well as support economic development and poverty reduction.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing aid to Sierra Leone to offset the interest payments on that country’s debt.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is working with the Government of Sierra Leone to create a more prosperous and inclusive country. This includes support to increase revenue generation and improve public financial management to address their debt position.
Sierra Leone is not currently in debt distress, although it is at high risk. There is an existing process through multilateral fora which countries can follow if they wish to pursue debt relief.
In the last 6 months, the UK has actively supported decisions taken by the IMF and the World Bank to provide additional financial support packages for Sierra Leone. Our contributions to the EU and African Development Bank are also supporting the Government of Sierra Leone to finance their development needs.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to his oral contribution of 9 May 2019, Official Report Column 653, when and by how much the budget for peatland restoration will be increased.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government will take any future decisions on funding for peatland restoration as part of the 2019 Spending Review.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has plans to send election observers to monitor the forthcoming Bougainvillean independence referendum in October 2019.
Answered by Mark Field
The British Government is fully committed to supporting the Bougainville Peace Process, including the forthcoming referendum. We are contributing £95,000 to the UN's Bougainville Referendum Support Project, and have shared our expertise on post-conflict reconciliation, including from Northern Ireland. We have yet to receive an invitation to deploy election observers but stand ready to help ensure a free, fair and peaceful vote.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Vietnamese counterpart on the (a) number of prisoners of conscience and (b) freedom of expression in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK is concerned at restrictions on freedom of expression in Vietnam. We have regularly raised these issues at the United Nations and bilaterally with the Government of Vietnam.
We raised concerns about freedom of expression and assembly, the treatment of prisoners and the protection of civil society in Vietnam during Vietnam’s Universal Periodic Review in January 2019, and again in a UN Human Rights Council Item 2 Statement in March 2019.
Bilaterally, I raised freedom of expression at the UK-Vietnam High Level Political Dialogue in January 2019. Ahead of the Media Freedom Conference in July 2019, the UK will continue to raise media freedom with the Vietnamese government.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have died by suicide at each UK university in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Mental health is a priority for this government, which is why we continue to work closely with Universities UK (UUK) on embedding the Step Change programme within the sector. Step Change calls on higher education (HE) leaders to adopt mental health as a strategic priority and adopt a whole-institution approach to mental health, embedding it across all policies, cultures, curricula and practice.
In addition, the government actively backs the introduction of a sector-led University Mental Health Charter, launched in June 2018. This will drive up standards in promoting student and staff mental health and wellbeing. It will invite universities to meet high standards of practice, including in areas such as leadership, early intervention and data collection.
HE institutions (HEI) have legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support students, including those with mental health conditions. It is for HEIs to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students to offer that support.
The information requested is not held centrally regarding student suicide. However, in June 2018, the Office for National Statistics released experimental statistics estimating suicide among higher education students in England and Wales which can be found following this link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/estimatingsuicideamonghighereducationstudentsenglandandwalesexperimentalstatistics/2018-06-25.
The government has worked with UUK, the Office for Students, and other stakeholders to develop guidance on measures to help prevent suicide and deal sensitively with issues that may arise when tragedy does occur. This guidance was published in September 2018, ahead of the 2018/19 academic year.
As independent and autonomous bodies, HEIs are responsible for decisions regarding required training for their staff and have a duty of care to their staff, like all employers, as well as to their students.